Worldwide PC shipments fell by 8,3% year-on-year in the fourth quarter of 2015, according to the preliminary results of new Gartner research. For the year, shipments fell by 8% to 288,7m units.
The fourth quarter of 2015 marked the fifth consecutive quarter of worldwide PC shipment declines, said Gartner principal analyst Mikako Kitagawa. Not even the traditional holiday buying season was enough to boost shipments, suggesting changes to consumers’ PC buying behaviour.
Microsoft’s new Windows 10 operating system, though generally receiving positive reviews, was also not enough to move the needle. “Windows 10 migration was minor in the fourth quarter as many organisations were just starting their testing period,” Gartner said in a statement.
No region was spared, either, the company said. Currency devaluations continued to impact Africa, Europe and the Middle East, as well as Latin America and Japan.
The decline in shipments is likely to slow in 2016, however, with the worldwide number forecast to fall by 1% compared to 2015. There’s even the potential for a soft recovery later in the year, Gartner said.
However, Kitagawa said the PC market is in the middle of structural change that will reduce the PC installed base in the coming few years.
PC shipments in Europe, the Middle East and Africa totalled 22,5m units in the fourth quarter of 2015, a decline of 16% year over year. Worldwide PC shipments declined for the fourth consecutive year, which started in 2012 with the launch of tablets.
Although China’s Lenovo reported a decline in shipments for a third consecutive quarter, it continued to weather the market conditions better than its rivals, declining by less than the industry average and helping it extend its market lead, Gartner said.
Lenovo accounted for 20,3% of worldwide PC shipments in the fourth quarter of 2015.
Hewlett-Packard’s fourth quarter PC shipments declined worldwide across all regions, Gartner said.
Dell’s PC shipments declined across all regions except Japan, where the company grew by single digits compared to the fourth quarter of 2014.
The top five vendors by PCs shipped into sales channels in the fourth quarter of 2015 were, in order, Lenovo (20,3% market share), HP (18,8%), Dell (13,5%), Asus (7,9%) and Apple (7,5%). – © 2015 NewsCentral Media
